Not a painter
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” –Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
So my wife and I did a thing a couple months back. After talking around it for years, we applied to volunteer at the Loving Choices Pregnancy Center. You may remember the article I posted in early May, that mentioned the expanding opportunity the church would have to share the love of Jesus with people facing unplanned pregnancies. That has certainly turned out to be the case. Having a heart both for young people and extremely young people, we wanted to do our part.
My wife has a very compelling story from her own experience to share with young mothers, and I’m just egotistical enough to believe I might have something of value to share with young fathers. That’s what we told Bettina when she asked us about our areas of interest. We filled out our paperwork and left our contact information. We were told we’d need to undergo some training before they turned us loose in their counseling and mentoring programs, which was actually quite a relief.
And let us not grow weary of doing good. –Galatians 6:9a (ESV)
In the meantime, we were reminded of something about being a volunteer. To quote Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get.” A couple weeks after making our intentions known, we got a message! Was our training scheduled? Were we being assigned? It was from Bettina, regarding a need for some interior painting at a new Loving Choices site called “the Little Yellow House”, a place for young mothers to receive pregnancy testing, ultrasound exams, counseling, and parenting classes. Acquired and restored through an almost miraculous series of events, the facility will open next month, strategically located across the street from an abortion clinic.
Now my wife and I are not painters. When we received the invitation, our minds went back to previous misadventures in the realm of home décor. Yes, we have been known to pay a professional more to clean up our messes than it would have cost to hire them in the first place. So we debated how we should answer the text. After all, it was pretty short notice for a Saturday morning project on a weekend that was already pretty full.
Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? –Luke 6:46 (NIV)
On the other hand, we had told Bettina that we were willing to do whatever was needed. If Jesus wanted us to paint a house where frightened and hopeless young mothers would come to realize their own value and the value of their unborn children, we would give it our best shot. About fifteen people showed up, between the ages of 7 and 70. Fortunately, there were three or four who knew what they were doing. My wife and I worked alongside a couple of veteran painters named Doug and Julie. In another context, I might have seen Julie as kinda bossy, but on this day, I needed a boss!
To make a long story slightly less long, we painted the heck out of that house and met some good friends in the process. God is good and He wants to do good things through His people. So jump in! Where you can, when you can, however you can. Someone needs to see the light of Jesus shining through YOU!
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. –Matthew 5:16 (ESV)